ABSTRACT
Using sources reflects our appreciation that ideas exist in context, that minds exist in relation to other minds, and that thinking is a dialogic process. Like the creative use of an object, using sources can serve essential, not simply auxiliary, functions for your readers and yourself. Sources usually serve one of two complementary purposes: to set your ideas in context or to set your ideas off from another’s (e.g., to stake your claims and qualify or refute counterarguments). Writers are usually more familiar with using sources to acknowledge their debts or establish contexts than they are with setting boundaries to distinguish their ideas from those of others. Yet such boundary setting is essential to establishing your ideas as your own and demonstrating your authority. In this chapter you will learn how to use sources effectively and artfully, when to consult them, and how to structure a literature review when one is required.
